Business Description
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a Delaware-domiciled holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, that owns subsidiaries across a wide range of industries. Its most important operations are its primary and reinsurance insurance businesses (including GEICO and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance), the BNSF freight-rail transportation business, and the Berkshire Hathaway Energy group of regulated utilities. Berkshire also owns dozens of manufacturing, service and retailing businesses and holds one of the largest equity-securities portfolios in the world. The company is run on an unusually decentralized basis, with capital allocation and major investment decisions directed centrally by its chief executive officer.
Financial Statements
In thousands, USD
| FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance premiums earned | 88,902 | 88,257 | 83,403 | 74,576 |
| Sales and service revenues | 199,524 | 202,334 | 207,148 | 157,518 |
| Leasing revenues | 10,034 | 9,227 | 8,416 | 7,514 |
| Interest, dividend and other investment income | 23,261 | 21,825 | 15,764 | 10,263 |
| Railroad transportation revenues | 23,330 | 23,355 | 23,791 | 25,802 |
| Utility and energy operating revenues | 21,856 | 21,518 | 21,232 | 21,023 |
| Service revenues and other income | 4,537 | 4,917 | 4,728 | 5,324 |
| Total Revenues | 371,444 | 371,433 | 364,482 | 302,020 |
| Investment gains (losses) | 39,078 | 52,799 | 74,855 | (67,899) |
| Total costs and expenses | 318,473 | 315,697 | 321,144 | 266,484 |
| Earnings (loss) before income taxes and equity method earnings | 92,049 | 108,535 | 118,193 | (32,363) |
| Equity method earnings (losses) | (9,590) | 1,841 | 1,973 | 1,863 |
| Earnings (loss) before income taxes | 82,459 | 110,376 | 120,166 | (30,500) |
| Income tax expense (benefit) | 15,199 | 20,815 | 23,019 | (8,502) |
| Net earnings (loss) | 67,260 | 89,561 | 97,147 | (21,998) |
| Earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests | 292 | 566 | 924 | 761 |
| Net earnings (loss) attributable to Berkshire shareholders | 66,968 | 88,995 | 96,223 | (22,759) |
| Net earnings (loss) per equivalent Class A share | 46,563 | 61,900 | 66,412 | (15,494) |
| Net earnings (loss) per equivalent Class B share | 31.04 | 41.27 | 44.27 | (10.33) |
| FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents (Insurance and Other) | 47,719 | 44,333 | 34,268 | 32,260 |
| Short-term investments in U.S. Treasury Bills | 321,434 | 286,472 | 129,619 | 92,774 |
| Investments in fixed maturity securities | 17,816 | 15,364 | 23,758 | 25,128 |
| Investments in equity securities | 297,778 | 271,588 | 353,842 | 308,793 |
| Equity method investments | 19,978 | 31,134 | 29,066 | 28,050 |
| Loans and finance receivables | 29,836 | 27,798 | 24,681 | 23,208 |
| Other receivables | 44,331 | 43,887 | 46,261 | 43,506 |
| Inventories | 24,424 | 24,008 | 25,856 | 25,366 |
| Property, plant and equipment (Insurance and Other) | 31,885 | 30,071 | 30,199 | 21,113 |
| Equipment held for lease | 18,535 | 17,828 | 16,947 | 15,584 |
| Goodwill (Insurance and Other) | 55,945 | 56,860 | 57,473 | 51,522 |
| Other intangible assets | 33,802 | 34,638 | 35,884 | 29,187 |
| Deferred charges - retroactive reinsurance | 8,104 | 8,797 | 9,495 | 9,870 |
| Other assets (Insurance and Other) | 24,413 | 24,994 | 21,866 | 19,628 |
| Total Insurance and Other assets | 976,000 | 917,772 | 839,215 | 725,989 |
| Property, plant and equipment (Railroad, Utilities and Energy) | 184,740 | 175,030 | 169,447 | 160,268 |
| Goodwill (Railroad, Utilities and Energy) | 27,129 | 27,020 | 27,153 | 26,597 |
| Cash, receivables and other (Railroad, Utilities and Energy) | 34,307 | 34,059 | 34,163 | 35,598 |
| Total Railroad, Utilities and Energy assets | 246,176 | 236,109 | 230,763 | 222,463 |
| Total Assets | 1,222,176 | 1,153,881 | 1,069,978 | 948,452 |
| Unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses | 151,761 | 147,594 | 145,729 | 142,887 |
| Unearned insurance premiums | 31,339 | 30,808 | 30,507 | 28,657 |
| Life, annuity and health insurance benefits | 17,890 | 17,616 | 20,213 | 22,421 |
| Notes payable and other borrowings (Insurance and Other) | 45,763 | 44,885 | 48,468 | 46,538 |
| Notes payable and other borrowings (Railroad, Utilities and Energy) | 83,318 | 79,877 | 79,803 | 76,206 |
| Income taxes, principally deferred | 86,955 | 85,870 | 93,009 | 77,020 |
| Other liabilities | 85,447 | 95,576 | 81,479 | 74,106 |
| Total Liabilities | 502,473 | 502,226 | 499,208 | 467,835 |
| Redeemable noncontrolling interests | — | — | 3,261 | — |
| Common stock at par value | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Capital in excess of par value | 35,612 | 35,665 | 34,480 | 35,167 |
| Retained earnings | 763,186 | 696,218 | 607,350 | 511,602 |
| Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) | (2,448) | (3,584) | (3,763) | (6,591) |
| Treasury stock, at cost | (78,939) | (78,939) | (76,802) | (67,826) |
| Berkshire shareholders' equity | 717,419 | 649,368 | 561,273 | 472,360 |
| Noncontrolling interests | 2,284 | 2,287 | 6,236 | 8,257 |
| Total Shareholders' Equity | 719,703 | 651,655 | 567,509 | 480,617 |
| Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity | 1,222,176 | 1,153,881 | 1,069,978 | 948,452 |
| FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net earnings (loss) | 67,260 | 89,561 | 97,147 | (21,998) |
| Investment (gains) losses | (39,078) | (52,799) | (74,855) | 67,899 |
| Depreciation and amortization | 13,476 | 12,855 | 12,486 | 10,899 |
| Discount accretion on investments | (11,964) | (11,349) | (5,510) | (1,132) |
| Equity method investment impairment losses | 10,681 | — | — | — |
| Other operating adjustments | 3,239 | (892) | (513) | (3,074) |
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net | 2,355 | (6,784) | 20,441 | (15,244) |
| Net cash flows from operating activities | 45,969 | 30,592 | 49,196 | 37,350 |
| Purchases of equity securities | (16,923) | (9,237) | (16,462) | (67,930) |
| Sales of equity securities | 30,686 | 143,359 | 40,631 | 33,664 |
| Purchases of U.S. Treasury Bills and fixed maturity securities | (586,129) | (526,842) | (235,007) | (183,922) |
| Sales of U.S. Treasury Bills and fixed maturity securities | 44,769 | 48,462 | 52,302 | 90,088 |
| Redemptions and maturities of U.S. Treasury Bills and fixed maturity securities | 503,954 | 353,538 | 153,201 | 66,318 |
| Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired | (1,074) | (396) | (8,604) | (10,594) |
| Purchases of property, plant and equipment and equipment held for lease | (20,927) | (18,976) | (19,409) | (15,464) |
| Other investing activities | 1,157 | (195) | 685 | 239 |
| Net cash flows from investing activities | (44,487) | (10,287) | (32,663) | (87,601) |
| Net proceeds (repayments) of borrowings | 2,148 | 1,239 | (3,494) | 8,767 |
| Changes in short-term borrowings, net | 878 | (3,059) | 2,407 | (596) |
| Acquisitions of treasury stock | — | (2,918) | (9,171) | (7,854) |
| Other, principally transactions with noncontrolling interests | (793) | (5,622) | (4,147) | (1,979) |
| Net cash flows from financing activities | 2,233 | (10,360) | (14,405) | (1,662) |
| Effects of foreign currency exchange rate changes | 478 | (212) | 116 | (394) |
| Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 4,193 | 9,733 | 2,244 | (52,307) |
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of year | 52,569 | 48,376 | 38,643 | 36,399 |
Key Metrics & Ratios
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Net earnings margin | 18.0% |
| Pre-tax margin | 22.2% |
| Return on equity | 9.3% |
| Return on assets | 5.5% |
| Equity-to-assets | 58.7% |
| Debt-to-equity | 0.18x |
Margins
Net earnings margin
18.0%
Pre-tax margin
22.2%
Return on equity
9.3%
What Drove the Period
Total revenues were about flat in fiscal 2025 at $371.4B, but net earnings attributable to shareholders fell to $67.0B from $89.0B a year earlier, as lower investment gains ($39.1B versus $52.8B), a $10.7B equity-method impairment and an equity-method loss compressed the bottom line. Berkshire's balance sheet continued to strengthen, with total assets reaching $1.22T and shareholders' equity of $717.4B, backed by $321.4B of short-term U.S. Treasury Bills and a $297.8B equity-securities portfolio. Operating cash flow of $46.0B and modest leverage (roughly 0.18x debt-to-equity) underscore the group's conservative capitalization.
More on BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC
Figures compiled from public company filings.
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